Regina Coeli CYO is a recreational basketball league serving the youth of Regina Coeli Church and surrounding area. Our program is open to boys in grades 2-12 and girls in grades 2-8. Intramural and travel basketball programs are available.
Regina Coeli CYO is a recreational basketball league serving the youth of Regina Coeli Church in Hyde Park, NY and the surrounding area. Our program is open to boys in grades 2-12 and girls in grades 2-8. Intramural and travel basketball programs are available. The program is affiliated with Dutchess CYO and CYO NY. See our "About Regina Coeli CYO" webpage for more information.
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Winter 2020-21 Season 09/20/2020 The COVID-19 pandemic has changed virtually all aspects of our lives,...
09/13/2019
Winter 2020-21 Season
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed virtually all aspects of our lives, including youth sports. While some local sports leagues have been able to take advantage of outdoor fields and favorable weather to resume play, indoor activities such as CYO basketball face greater challenges. Among these challenges:
Maintaining social distancing for players and spectators while being indoors. A typical game at RC has, at the very least, 50 people in the gym, while most games average 75-100. Furthermore, other groups, including the Regina Coeli Faith Formation program use the building on a regular basis.
Gym access. With over 340 players split among 36 teams during the previous season, our program utilizes the Regina Coeli gym for most games but is also dependent upon gym access in the Hyde Park schools. All of our intramural teams practice in Hyde Park Schools and our high school league holds games at Haviland on Saturdays. At this point, the HPCSD is not allowing facility usage by outside groups.
Regina Coeli CYO is more than simply a recreational basketball program. While we hope that all of our players enjoy friendly competition and develop their basketball skills, our program places a great deal of emphasis on sportsmanship, character development, and coaches as positive role models. Perhaps the only thing that is more important is the health and safety of our players, coaches, and their families. With this in mind, and in keeping with regulations set forth by CYONY, I am sorry to announce that the Regina Coeli CYO season is on hold. Our hope is that we will be able to hold a season from January to May and will reassess the feasibility of this in November/December. It is important to note, however, that a season is not certain, as it presents a number of challenges, including but not limited to:
Adhering to any social distancing protocols that may be in place at that time, as well as CDC guidelines and CYONY guidelines.
Additional costs associated with sanitizing facilities and equipment.
Scheduling to avoid Church conflicts such as Holy Week/Easter, First Communion, etc.
Scheduling to avoid spring break.
Accessing gym space for practices and the high school league.
Conflicts with spring sports.
Dependence upon other parishes' programs to create a league (for our travel program).
As I write this, I am thinking about all the loss our players (and their families) have experienced since the start of the pandemic. As a parent of three children, I feel like my kids have lost valuable time and missed out on important experiences during these past 6 months. My kids were disappointed with this decision, as yours will also likely be. I too am saddened by the uncertainty surrounding the season. That being said, I am confident that we will return stronger from this experience and look forward to the start of our season, which will hopefully be sooner rather than later. In the meantime, please encourage your kids to work on their skills as weather permits. The CYONY video library is a great resource for drills: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQS5tpsxvxOtsJSmQ4cAt5lLLYm7fu0GP
